


Sparks

by Falmouth



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Being Lost, Canon Compliant, I imagined it to be after chapter 68 but it's not really relevant since there aren't spoilers, Jearmin Reverse Bang, M/M, canonverse, snowstorm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-08
Updated: 2015-05-08
Packaged: 2018-03-29 12:51:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3897007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Falmouth/pseuds/Falmouth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jean and Armin have to bring some important information for an upcoming mission, and everything is going okay until Jean proposes to take a shortcut in the woods getting, inevitably, both him and Armin terribly lost.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sparks

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the jearmin reverse bang, inspired by the amazing art of kkoraki. Check it out [here](http://wls-arts.tumblr.com/post/118374025777/the-art-i-did-for-this-years-jearmin-reverse)  
> This turned out to be a more cuter/fluffier than I expected it to be, but I'm not going to complain.

Even though the area of Shiganshina and surroundings didn't offer any group of trees that could be considered noteworthy, Armin apparently was, out of the small group of friends of his, the only one who had at least the slightest idea of where they were and didn't manage to get lost, when they decided to go exploring the secrets of the woods.

Eren had called it magical power and extraordinary sense of direction, Armin preferred to say attention to particulars. A weird-shaped branch or a funny rock or even loose soil left from some animal could be used as perfect orientation points, so getting in - and out - a forest never had been too difficult for him.  

Even during training days, despite the many problems that might have occurred because of his lack of physical strength, explorations and classification of  plants had always been his forte, alongside theory and strategy tasks.

Yet, here he was now. Completely lost.

Surely, he might have been  _distracted_ by the unsettling weather, ankle-deep snow, frozen wind on his cheeks and cold feet, but spotting weird rocks might have been hard nonetheless because under the deep coat of snow everything looked white and the same.

«Tell me why we agreed on this mission again?»

Jean seemed the most frustrated about the situation between the two of them, for obvious reasons. First of all, he had never enjoyed snow much and during training the used to spend the whole winter complaining about the weather and looking forward to Spring. Secondly, they couldn't exactly call that mission a success, which might have weighted on Jean's already stressed nerves.  

«We didn't agree on anything. We are just following orders. Levi asked to bring this paper with the information for the following mission to the Yarckel district, where there should be some more Garrison members working in the northern region. Of course, everyone else in the squad had something else to do, so that's how we-»

He was interrupted by a deep sigh.

«I know that, Armin. I was only joking.»

«Oh.» Armin looked at the ground and slowed down his pace. He always felt weird whenever he couldn't understand sarcasm in people's words and probably he was just embarrassing himself by taking everything so seriously.

A few meters away Jean turned around and stopped, waiting for Armin to catch up with him.

Walking in deep snow wasn't easy: Armin couldn't really understand why the military wasn't provided with proper equipment and he wondered if that weather was common for the up north region or everyone had been taken abackby that sudden fall of iced water.

«How much do you think it will take us to reach Yarckel?» asked Jean.

«Given that we don't have our horses anymore, and we have to go by feet I would say... eight more hours.»

Jean whined.

«...Starting when we'll finally reach the end of the forest.»

Jean groaned.

They didn't talk for a while, the only sound around them being their muffled steps on snow and occasional creaks of branches or far, distant calls of animals.

«I still can't believe we let our horses be stolen» Jean murmured out of the blue, taking Armin by an arm and helping him climbing on a rock that blocked their way. «And don't you dare saying that we didn't  _let_  anyone steal them and it was just an accident because I'm leaving you here.» he added, frowning. Armin looked at him weirdly.

Jean made a silly sound between a scoff and a laugh.

Surely, the loss of horses was the main reason of their lost wandering in the woods. They were provided a map to reach Yarckel from the Orvud district, with the aim of informing more Garrison members of the upcoming Survey Corps mission and asking how many of them were willing to participate. The rest of the group, included Captain Levi and Erwin would have joined them a day later, and the mission could be declared officially started. Erwin thought that having only a couple of members going there at least twenty-four hours before could increase the possibilities of more soldiers joining, instead of all the Survey Corps -although few- bursting in all together in the city and asking to join a mission out of hand without a proper explanation. Hence, that was how Jean and Armin found themselves on their way to the Orvud district, ready to inform enough soldiers of Erwin's plan in time.

Not much later their departure, Jean had proposed they took a shortcut in the woods. And that wouldn't have been such a bad idea per se, if it weren't for the bandits that had waited for them to take a little rest for stealing their horses. Jean and Armin had tied them to a tree next to a pond and when they were back after only a couple of minutes the horses weren't there anymore. According to the tracks on the snow, it was obvious they hadn't just fled on their own. Jean had screamed and cursed, wanting to go after them because ' _They can't fool the Survey Corps like that, Armin!'_ , but they soon found out that, being on foot, they couldn't stand a chance against armed, probably numerous people on horses.If it wasn't bad enough, the cold air of October had finally arrived and everything was covered in a deep coat of snow, and the color of the sky was an indication that probably it would have snowed again soon.

Luckily, Armin had the bad habit of re-reading paper plans over and over, so he was able to keep at least those and the map.

Still, with the horses they had lost also smoke flares, food and everything else.

«You are the one who decided to enter the forest even if it's barely indicated on the map.» Armin pointed out, touching a rough drawn circle on the map, beside the main street that would have led them to their destination.

Jean looked offended and Armin tilted is head at his annoyed reaction. He hadn’t mean to say that out of spite, he was just stating a fact. Now that he thought about it, between Jean's many abilities, his lack of sense of direction definitely stood out, and Armin couldn't really figure out an appropriate motivation as to why he had decided to enter that forest that was  _barely indicated on the map._   

«I thought you would be able to get us out quickly.»

«I.. what?»

«Well, you have always been good with forests and... stuff. I thought that you would be able to find an exit so we wouldn't have to take the long way around it. And we could have reached Yarckel by evening. You... know how to be in the forest.. I mean, better than me, so maybe...I was just relying on your talent.»

«Oh. Sorry to disappoint you?»

«No, no, I didn't mean that!»

«But, Jean.» Armin said slowly,  «I don't know this forest. I've never been here so I don't know where it goes and where it ends. And even if it wasn't for the snow, I wouldn’t be able to rely on rocks and weird brunches because I don't need to find a way back... We need to go forward... So, my... skills are not that useful in this situation..»

«Yeah... I- I am sorry. That was stupid, okay? Let's go on» Jean said bluntly, turning around and walking away quickly.

«That wasn't- Jean!» Armin tried to stop him.

He pouted, before running behind him, struggling to match Jean's big steps while walking in the snow.

«Jean! Wait!»

Since the other male seemed to have no interest in following Armin's words, the blond had to think quickly of something to make that happen, before either of them got stuck or lost in that forest alone.

«Did you-» he said out of breath, trying to walk even faster but careful not to fall down. Cold and snowy hands and face was the last thing he wanted. «Did you really mean that? That I'm-» A deep breath. «That I'm good with forests and stuff?»

Jean stopped, and turned around.

«Armin...»

The blond finally was at his side again, looking up at Jean with a faint smile.

«Of course I do mean that! I said so, didn't I? Remember that time in our first year of training they put us in the woods without any food or anything just to test our abilities before actually teaching us any survival stuff? You were one of the few who didn't completely freak out and was able to light a fire, so... of course I mean that.»

Armin bit his lip and smiled. «Thank you.»

 

 

 

 

Jean thought they had hit rock bottom when it had started snowing, but he couldn't be more wrong.

The flakes were few and soft at the beginning and, even though they could be terribly annoying and he would gladly have been better off without them, it was nothing compared to what had just happened.

Twenty minutes before they had suddenly reached a little, tree-lacking area, which seemed odd to Jean. It looked like a clearing, but it had a weird shape... Yet again, he didn't know anything about forests.

«Hey Armin! Look at that.»

Armin had spent the last half an hour or so with his nose buried in the map, bringing it closer as time passed and the night outstretched on them. He had risked to bump against a tree more than once and had avoided a broken nose only because Jean grabbed him by his hood just in time.

At the mention of his name, Armin rose his head and looked first at Jean, and than at the thing said boy was pointing at.

«A clearing!»

«Uh... so what?»

_Right... so what?_  A clearing surely wasn't being outside the forest and being in an open place under the direct snow was the last thing he needed. At least the trees could offer them a little protection. Maybe he had got Armin's attention over something so unimportant because he had been looking for a change in their conversation of the last hour, which had been... nothing.

He had just taken the first different thing in their surroundings as an interesting conversation topic.

«Uhh... So... I just wanted to show it to you.» Jean said, suddenly feeling really awkward, passing his hands through his hair and then scratching the back of his neck.

Armin looked at the ground and made an acknowledging sound.

And then  _that_  happened.

Jean would never forget Armin's look of disbelief as a particular strong gust of wind made the map slip away from his hands.

It was like Jean was watching it in slow motion. The piece of paper twirling tenderly in the wind, Armin jumping and trying to catch it but in vain, his own hand outstretched in the sky and missing it as well by a few centimeters.

They both stood still staring at each other for a moment, watching as the map fell a few meters away from them, just in the middle of the clearing.

«Oh no!» Armin exclaimed, running towards it.

«Armin, how could you lose it? You were holding it so tightly!»

«Well... You distracted me!»

«How could I...» Jean trailed off, following the other slowly.

The blond had now almost reached the map when Jean heard it. A loud, unmistakable  _crack._

What kind of clearing cracked? He looked behind him, worried a wild animal might have been there.

«Jean...»

The boy turned his head slowly towards his friend, who had just pronounced his name with such a frightened tone. And when he finally saw the blond, oh, he wished their only problem was the snow.

Jean looked mouth agape Armin in the middle of a cracked surface that was definitely  _not_  a clearing.

It was a lake. Or rather a pond, because he had now learned the differences between them and he was definitely sure that was the latter... and that was definitely not the time to be discussing that.

He felt so stupid for not recognizing it! How could he have thought that was a clearing?! And Armin, too... But then he remembered the words the blond had said not long before: everything looked the same under the coat of snow. Even that pond, with the iced surface and the flakes all over it, looked exactly like the ground near them.

«Armin.» he whispered, almost afraid a loud noise could break the ice even further. «Don't move.»

«Well.. I would like to come back...»

«Okay. Please, lay down,  _slowly_  and crawl here.»

«Wait, I have to get the map first...»

«No. You come back here  _now_ and _-»_ Jean didn't manage to finish the sentence that the worst happened.

He watched, as Armin leaped to grab the map, the ice break beneath his foot, making the boy fall in the cold water to his hips.

«ARMIN!!»

Jean tried to run towards the other, but Armin promptly stopped him. «Jean, don't you dare come here now.»

«But...»

«No buts. I'm coming out on my own.»

«Armin this is hardly the time to...»

«I'm not trying to prove myself, if that it's what you're are going to say.» Armin said with an angry voice and Jean couldn't say anything more. «I just don't want this to get any worse...»

Jean could only stand at the border of the pond helplessly as the blond managed to boost himself out of the water. He watched as Armin found his way back to him walking extremely slowly, calculating every step and exhaling thankfully every time he could move a bit forward.

Then, as soon as his feet were finally safe on the ground again, Jean ran towards Armin and toke both of his hands in his own.

«Are you alright?»

«Yeah... but the map is soaked.»

«I don't give a shit about the map! What matters is that  _you_ are safe.»

Armin scooted back and looked at Jean deeply in the eyes. «Yeah... I'm.. I’m okay.»

Jean exhaled and murmured a soft «Thank God...», as he tried to untie his cape.

«Now you take this.»

«Jean... my shoulders aren't wet...»

«Now you take this.»

Armin looked at the ground and unwillingly accepted what Jean was offering him.

«Thank you...» he murmured. «But aren't you going to be cold? You are wearing only a shirt, and it's  _snowing.»_

_Yes, he was going to be cold_.

«Don't worry about me. I've got a tough skin.»

«Okay. Well, shall we continue then? O-our search for the exit?»

«Wait, Armin, no. We should stop»

«N-no, we.. we need to get out.»

«Armin, your lips are blue. And... and even if we reach the end of this damned forest, the storm will continue to go on. Eight more hours until Yarckel; you said that, remember? We can't possibly live through that.»

That seemed to convince Armin, who looked at the ground and nodded. He tried his best not to shiver, but a gust of wind on his wet clothes made him jump.

«See? You're freezing. Please let's search a place where we could rest. We're will be able to find a way out tomorrow.»

 

 

 

 

They found an area where the trees were more dense soon after and Jean was glad they had finally reached a spot where they could rest. Of course, it probably meant that they were just deeper and more lost in the forest, but that was a problem they could take care of the next day.

«D-do you know how to light a fire?» Armin asked feebly, between chattering teeth.

«I- I remember the basics, yeah.» Jean answered, cleaning a little spot on the ground from the snow, trying to make it as compacted and flat as possible.

There wasn't much room, meaning they were supposed to sleep between hard and uncomfortable roots, but it wasn't like they had a choice.

They started searching for little branches and undergrowth but everything on the ground was wet and covered in snow and neither of them had any intention to climb on a tree. They were able to find some shrubbery and agreed that was the best they could afford. Still, they needed something to start the fire with.

Jean had a couple of little flints in his pockets he had started to always bring with him. He had found them near their camp just a week before and since then he had used them quite often as a stress-relief method. While sitting outside in the night for guard hours, just having something to do helped keeping his mind free from the nightmares they were all living in those days. He could just concentrate on the rhythmical and repetitive birth and death of sparks for hours, and forget about everything else.

Those little sparks, though, would never be able to light the wood they had found.

«The map.» Jean said out loud, after he had finished piling up the branches.

«What?»

«We need something that will start to burn easily and fast to make everything else burn too. I say we burn the map. It's not like we're going to need it, shattered as it is.»

«B-b-but Jean! We can't burn the map!»

«Well, then find me something else we can use!»

«You said you remembered how to light a fire...»

«Armin...»

« _Dolichousnea longissima»_

«.... What?»

«It's what we need for the fire. It will burn  _easily and fast_.» Armin answered, smiling at the face Jean was doing at the mention of the lichen's name. Seriously, he was being over-dramatic, it wasn't such a strange word, Armin thought.

«I swear I never heard of that one.» Jean said, looking down at Armin with a mocking smile.

«I swear I heard it a lot of times in class. Weren't you paying attention, Jean?» the blond answered, with a teasing smile as well.

Jean was still convinced Armin was tricking him about the  _dolchinosea_  or whatever its name was, but after the blond had tore some off of a tree, he told himself to just stop thinking about it and focus on finding more.

Turned out 'more' still wasn't enough, but, according to Armin, «These aren't even the most suitable trees, plus with this cold season we are already lucky with what we have.», so Jean didn't complain.

Even though the trees held a little protection against the snow, with the cold and biting wind, lighting a fire turned out to be more difficult than they had both thought at the beginning.

Only after twenty minutes Jean was able to make a spark big enough from the flints that was able to burn what they had collected.

The flame, though, was feeble and weak and Jean was afraid it could die any second.

Armin was standing very close to the fire, his hands held over it, trying his best to warm himself up.

His clothes were still wet and even if Jean had given him his cloak, he doubted anything had changed. The cloth was waterproof and it would have never be able to dry Armin's shirt and pants. He hoped it would protect at least Armin's shoulders from the wind, given how he was  _freezing_  wearing only his shirt. He hoped giving Armin his cloak would have been worth it.

Armin might have noticed him lost in his thoughts, because he looked up at Jean with a little smile and pointed the spot beside him.

«Jean come on, don't stand still and sit down. Or are you really frozen?»

Jean scoffed and sat down at Armin's left with a smile, his legs crossed.

They stayed silent for a while, waiting for time to pass, Jean occasionally blowing softly at the base of the fire in hope of reviving it.

«Fuck Armin, this thing is dying out.»

Jean exhaled deeply, leaning back and letting himself rest against a tree. The situation was definitely bleak.

He saw Armin taking his place in front of the fire, trying to move the branches to make them burn more easily. «No good, the flame is not strong enough to burn these logs we found.»

Jean closed his eyes. «We might end up having to rely on body warmth.»

He heard Armin startle and make a noise and tried to imagine Armin's reaction. The idea of  _hugging_  was indeed awkward for him too, but there weren't many more possibilities, right? Would Armin be against holding Jean? Suddenly this idea made him feel a bit down; Armin wasn't a very touchy-feely guy -maybe only with Eren-, but then again, it didn't have to be really  _hugging_  and it wasn't like it had to mean anything, it was just... preventing frostbite.

«Yeah, that's what I'm doing.»

Jean opened his eyes and scooted forward again, shoulder to shoulder with the blond who looked at him weirdly as he brushed his own hands together before bringing them close to his mouth and blowing in them.

«Uh...»

«Are you hands cold too, Jean? You should probably rub them too if you wan-» Armin must have noticed Jean's blushing cheeks, suddenly red not from the wind but from embarrassment and cut himself half-sentence, murmuring what resembled an excuse and turning his head away from Jean.

The brunet lowered the arm he had almost draped around Armin's shoulders with nonchalance and coughed falsely.

The air was suddenly thick and awkward and Jean just hoped for something to happen because he couldn't bear the tension.  _Really anything._

«Oh!! Damn it!»

Jean thought he had never heard Armin to explode like that.

«Armin...?»

«You know, you were right. Let's burn the map.»

«A-are you sure?»

Armin let out a tired breath. «Yes. We shouldn't be doing this but we need something that will make the flame increase and burn the rest. You don't want to be stuck here in the snow without any source of heat, do you?

«Plus, you were right. It's too ruined for using it. Sorry for not admitting it before.»

Jean shook his head and cracked a grin towards Armin. «You have looked at that for so long that I'm sure it's printed in your retinas by now. Tomorrow morning you'll be more that able to get us to Yarckel in a heartbeat.»

Armin smiled a bit grasping what remained of the map in his hands, «You are relying too much on me... Again.»

Once they put the piece of paper in, the flame suddenly grew out, and if they weren't on the middle of one of their worst missions, Armin knew he could have enjoyed himself in watching the tall tongues of fire crackling up in the dark sky.

It didn't last long, as expected, but at least it was able to make the big branches start burning properly, which was the main point of it all.

«A-ha! Yes! Look, Armin, it's working!! We should have done this from the beginning, instead of losing time searching for thedolcinausea _...»_

«Jean, it's  _dolichousnea._ And it wasn’t lost time, the map wouldn't have been enough anyway...»

«Well we still have Erwin's plan papers...» Jean said with a grin, pointing at the bulging at Armin's stomach, were they stood folded neatly under his shirt.

«Jean! You can't burn those! We know the plan, but that's an official document we need to bring safe to the Garrison members... Otherwise what's the point of all this?»

Jean looked at Armin for a moment, titling his head, before bursting in a genuine laugh.

«It's not funny Jean...»

«Oh, Armin, I was only kidding!» the brunet explained, ruffling gently the hair at the top of the blond head. «I know we can't really destroy them. Your face was so funny though!»

Jean was glad of that abrupt turn in the mood air. Laughing with Armin made him almost forget the situation they were in, or the snow that was still silently falling above their heads.

The atmosphere was lighter now, warmer, and not because they were finally able to light that damned fire.

Laughing, joking, or simply talking with Armin always left a pleasant, glowing feeling in his chest.

«Jean» Armin said with a serious tone a bit later. «Now that we have the fire, please...» he started fumbling with the lace of the cape and removing it from his shoulders. He then handed it back to Jean. «Please take it.»

Jean seemed taken aback by Armin's action. «A-are you sure? You can keep it if you want...»

He knew Armin's clothes weren't completely dry yet and he knew giving extra clothing to the blond was the best choice, also because-

«I can see you chattering your teeth, Jean. With the fire I'm fine now. Please take your cloak back... I don't want you to think that I deserve it more that you do...»

His hands trembled and Jean cursed himself for making Armin self-conscious about himself again. The weak kid who always looked for help was gone a long time ago, and Jean was more that aware of that. Armin's ideas about politics and society that had leaked in the last month were more that clear; if anything, the one who needed more help between the two was Jean, not Armin. (Jean sulked at the thought that Armin might have known that well too, given how many times he had to save Jean from certain death.) Still, even if actions clearly spoke differently, he was too influenced by appearances. Armin's frail body and tiny waist made him want to decline, convince Armin to keep the cloak for himself, but the determined and stern expression on Armin's face reminded him that being too influenced by appearances was the last thing he wanted. Plus, he wasn't going to deny it, he was  _fucking_  freezing.

«W-why don't we share it?»

Armin looked at him deep in the eyes, a faint blush on his cheeks. Or maybe Jean was only imagining it.

«B-but it's yours. And I already have mine.»

«Yeah, but yours is ruined, and I know we have the fire but... we can both benefit from it, right? So why don't we... benefit form the cape too?»

At that, Armin could only nod.

Jean scooted closer to Armin, wrapping both of them with his own cloak. Luckily, it was big enough to fully cover both of them, their thighs and shoulders touching.

Jean awkwardly held his right hand close to his chest in an uncomfortable position, not knowing were to put it without the situation getting even more embarrassing. Why was he so embarrassed, though? It's not like they lacked intimacy during the years of training and sleeping all together, or even being pressed shoulder to shoulder was something new.

Armin looked at him with a little smile and slowly, tenderly, as if he was afraid of Jean's reaction, he laid his head against the brunet's shoulder.

Jean gulped and looked away, feeling a distinct blush spreading on his cheeks. He heard Armin sigh happily and adjust himself to be more comfortable. Maybe he was wrong about Armin not being touchy-feely, maybe he was wrong about Armin being against the idea of snuggling with him.  _It's not like that_ he thought immediately. It's ... sharing human warmth.  _I said that to him before, right? Then why do I feel like this? It's not an unpleasant feeling, it's just really...new. But definitely nice. And all Armin._

«Thank you.» Armin broke the silence.

«For what?» Jean looked down at him and noticed Armin's closed eyes and tired smile.

Armin didn't answer.

Jean eventually found the courage to drape an arm around Armin's shoulder and was glad it was so much easier than he had thought at the beginning. Armin's smile grew even wider.

Time passed smoothly after that, with Jean occasionally checking the fire and making sure it was still alive. Neither of them seemed particularly prone to sleep, and eventually they stopped asking what time they thought it was. It stopped snowing, but they almost didn't even notice it, too busy chatting or just enjoying each other's body pressed one against the other.

Even if he had stated more than once that he wasn't sleepy, Jean was sure he had dozed off a couple of times, his neck crooked weirdly against the tree.

«I guess this wasn't a bad day, after all...» he murmured, finally falling asleep once and for all.

 

 

 

 

 

The morning after they started walking again at dawn, and they were both baffled of how quickly they were able to find a way out of the woods. Back on the main road again, they could finally see Orvud not far away and they exchanged a quick look and a deep sight, ready to face the wrath of their squad for arriving one day later when they were supposed to be there one day  _earlier,_ without horses and full equipment, Jean reminded himself cringing.

Though, in the end, with the rising sun at their backs, as he watched their long shadows, stretched on the dawn-lit road beneath them, join hands, Jean thought that everything had been worth it, and he couldn't wait for him and Armin to get lost together again.

But in Spring. He had had enough of Winter already. He could have shown Armin the wanders of the blooming season.

Jean smiled.


End file.
